The Hellene Warrior
by FuckYeahVauseman
Summary: Alex is a Hellene (Greek) warrior from Sparta who gets captured in a battle and sold as a slave to become a female Gladiator. Will she survive the deadly combination of friendship, romance and the arena? - Vauseman AU. Warning: Contains violence, character death and smut.
1. Chapter I

**Hey guys, this is my first fanfic. English is not my native language so if you notice any flaws please tell me, then I will fix it. This is going to be a long story, and Vauseman will appear after a few chapters, so please stick with me for so long. Thanks!**

Chapter I

The sunlight pierced through the little hole that was smashed out of the wood. It was the only light in the little wooden box on the chariot that I was thrown into with at least ten other women. Nobody spoke Latin, nobody spoke the gorgeous language that was her own, Hellene. All I heard where the harsh tongues of barbarian language. But those where only whispers. Scared they were. Dirty, they smelled. Every night, when we were allowed to go out of the box, I washed myself with sand. There was no water around to wash yourself in. The barbarians mimicked me, but I could see that they had no idea what they were doing. And they kept smelling bad. Really bad. I was thought that personal hygiene is one of the greatest goods. If you are not clean, you can't be loved, you can't work, you can't do anything, because the body is dirty. Sitting in the wooden box with the other women who smelled like the men whom came back from battle, was not at all pleasant. I just hoped that we would arrive at our destination soon, wherever that may be.

I'm starting to remember how I got here, though it is still vague. I remember that I was send on a mission. Every women from Sparta who is trained in combat has to go on a mission to prove herself worthy of a husband and children. If you are weak, and don't survive, you certainly wouldn't be able to create strong children. Logically. My mission was on the outer regions of Hellas, very close to the Roman border. The Roman's and Hellas were friendly and had a pact that they wouldn't attack each other, but the Romans broke the bond. I was in the middle of a fight then I felt the sickening pain in the back of my head. I heard myself scream and then everything went black.

That's all I remember, but I did figure out the rest. I must've been captured, they must have sensed that I was still alive. I remember being on a ship, probably on my way to the heart of the Roman Empire. Some guard asked my name in Latin. "My name is Alex," I answered him, hoping he could give me more information about our destination. But he just wrote my name down on a wax tablet and ignored me.

I have no idea where we are going now. We were put in this box when we came of the ship and have been in here for six days now. The food was terrible. It was a bowl full of meat, corn and other things I can't define put together, until it was a tasteless, mud-coloured mush. We got one small rock-hard piece of bread to go with it and a small bowl of water.

I didn't try to talk to the other women. Barbarians. Dirty. Filthy. Not worthy of my time or the love from the gods. Athena has cursed her. Why would the goddess do this to me? Wasn't I loyal? Wasn't I worthy of her love? Her trust in me? Haven't I trained hard enough to be strong as a Spartan warrior should be? I am ashamed. I have let my people and the goddess down. Spartans can't be slaves. Spartans are rather dead than a slave. Being a slave is the lowest you can get, and Spartans are people of the highest standard, we are intelligent, we are the prominent nation in Hellas. The world fears us for our superiority in battle. We are proud. We should be, with the great victories we had in the past. But a slave… I rather be dead on the battle field, for that is the Spartan way.

I leaned my head against the wooden wall next to me. The constant noise of wooden wheels on the rocky road made me calm. Maybe there has been a mistake. Maybe I will be set free at our destination when they find out that I am Hellene. Yes, that must be it, a mistake. With that thought in my head I fell asleep in the uncomfortable box.


	2. Chapter II

**Hey guys,**

**thanks for the reviews! I can really use some feedback on the story and I love the enthusiasm. I'll try to make the chapters longer, but a small chapter always means that the next one isn't far away. For the people who are waiting for Piper to appear: that will be in chapter 5, so hang on! Enjoy this next (small) chapter!**

Chapter II

The chariot came to an acute halt. I jumped awake and smashed my not completely healed head against the roof of the box. I groaned because of the newly arrived pain in my head, but didn't flinch. I was thought better than that.

The door of the box was slammed open and the intense bright sunlight beamed in our faces. I covered my eyes quickly, the sunlight hurt my head. It was way too bright. I felt somebody roughly grab me by my arm en pull me out of the box, dragged me over the sand and I felt a heavy weight on my wrist. I heard shackles click and I said that there must have been a mistake. I immediately got a punch in my abdomen which made me collapse and gasp for air. I was pushed forward and started to walk clumsily. I dared to open my eyes a little bit. The sun was still very bright, but I could see through my eyelashes without too much pain.

All I saw was white. White buildings. White sand. White paths. White, White, White. Even the back of the person in front of me was white, stupid barbarian. I kept as much distance as I could, but the shackles didn't let me. It was quiet silent in the street. We must be in the outskirts of the city. A guard walked next to me, but I did not dare to talk again. So I walked in silence, while the noise started to grow the further we walked. At last we took halt and where moved into a rather large piazza surrounded by columns. Nasty Romans, I thought, they don't even have their own culture or architecture. This all belonged to Hellas, the superior nation.

In the middle of the piazza was a large pool full of fresh warm water. I couldn't wait to get all the dirt off me, so when we got the sign to take of our clothes I shrugged out of my dirty tunica as fast as I could. I had no shame, the body was surely something to be proud of. My tall figure, light white skin, black hair, toned stomach, muscled arms and legs, firm breasts and small amount of pubic hair was perfection in the definition itself. The barbarians fiddled with their clothing, which I didn't understand. Who wouldn't want to wash themselves clean after a week without? But when they took off their clothes I understood. Barbarian female-bodies weren't something to be proud of. They were quite chubby, low hanging big breast and massive amount of hair everywhere on their bodies. It grossed me out just to look at it.

"Listen up everyone!"

I looked up and saw a small man, very thin, with a large stick in his hand, smiling wickedly at us.

"You dirty little savages have to clean yourself, otherwise I can't make the amount of money that I want. Slaves! We are in Neapolis, the great suburb of Rome. Some of you travelled a week to get here, others a month. Slaves, you are weak, you are disgusting. I don't accept any resistance, if you do, you'll be an example to the rest of you". He was intimidating. But I had to set this mistake straight before it would be too late, so I stepped forward. All eyes flew to me, some in shock, some scared, but I didn't look at them. The man with the stick walked towards me, painfully slowly.

"You want to be an example, little tits?" he sneered at me. I was dumbfounded and at least a little angry. "My breast are fine, in perfect shape even. No, I want to tell you that there has been a mistake", I started. "I am no slave, I am a warrior from Hellas, Greece as you Romans call it". I was quite satisfied with myself, at least my temper didn't snap. "No slave you say?" Stickman had an evil laugh on his face. "We'll see about that…" he answered darkly. I heard the whooshing sound of the whip before I felt it, but when it smacked on my back unexpectedly I fell down on the floor. Pain ripped through me when I felt my skin burst open and the whip landed again, and again and again. I did not scream, I have not sunken that low, but with every blow I groaned. I was used to the whip, I was trained with it, but that was a long time ago. I forgot how all your dignity slips away from you until you're a shivering crying mess on the floor. But that could not happen.

I had to bare another 4 blows until it was over. I heard gasping women around me, saw looks of disgust and fear saw a little girl cry. I lifted my head, but I was dizzy. Footsteps in front of me came to a halt. "No slave she said… Welcome to the world, savage". I heard him chuckling when he walked away. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I did not let them fall, I was a Spartan afterall.


	3. Chapter III

**Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm sorry it's sometimes kind of brutal and harsh in the first chapters, but that will face during the story. Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter III

The bath was pure heaven and hell at the same time. I couldn't move normally because of the wounds on my back and the salted water made the agony even worse. At least the wounds would be clean, so I won't get infected by the bacteria of some barbarian. I washed myself thoroughly in a bended position, happy to get rid of the dirt. We were summoned out of the water again and all got a fresh new tunica and new sandals to wear. There were different colours of tunica's and I was surprised that I got a green one instead of red, for red is the colour of Sparta. Everybody knew Spartans wore red. "Can I have a red one?", I asked the guard who handed them out. He let out a sigh and lifted up his hand over his head. Fear took me when I saw stickman walking towards us. "Yes?", he asked. "The lady wishes to have a red tunica instead of the one I just gave her", the guard grumbled, his voice almost unrecognizable. Must've been a barbarian once, with his yellow hair. "Well, if the lady insists that she does not wish to wear the green one, then we must let her, shouldn't we Letanus?" Stickman chuckled again, and I knew it wouldn't mean any good. He grabbed the green tunica from my hand and walked away. "Move on, Letanus", he yelled.

So there I stood. Completely naked. I wasn't ashamed of course, but it made me uncomfortable that everyone was clothed and I was not. My uncomfortableness grew when I heard the next announcement of Stickman. "Slaves, we shall now proceed with our program for today. The marked has started and I want all of you sold by the end of the day!". We were shackled by our wrists once again, and started walking by barked orders of a guard. The marked was busy. Screaming men, praising their new stock of men and women. Gazing eyes in the crowd, looking for the right slave for the right job. Prices being blared by a large man who managed the auction. The sun was hot on my light skin, I got a little dizzy from my still not healed head-wound and the wounds on my back shot a stabbing pain through my body. I slumped in the row of shackled women and almost fell when I was pushed up some small steps. The women behind me pushed me up and I was thankful of her. We stopped when we all stood on a small wooden platform at about one meter from the ground. Interested buyers, bored wives and innocent children where in de crowd in front of us. Some of them looked nice, some of them looked like they torture people for a living.

One by one they were allowed on the platform. They yanked open mouths to look at the dental health, the felt the muscles on arms and legs, grabbed breasts and even touched their most intimate parts, and Stickman let it all happen. He just thought about his money and didn't care about his slaves at all. The first man arrived in front of me. He was just as tall as me, smelled of garlic and had the greasiest hair I have ever seen. I hold my gaze firm, I don't bow for a man. He smiled and yanked my mouth open. I used all my willpower to not kick him in the nuts then and there. After his inspection of my mouth he touched my arms and legs, but probably sensed that he would lose his balls if he dared to touch me where he shouldn't, so he moved on.

The next man on the other hand didn't get the massage. He was a little taller than me, and looked quite decent. As far as Romans can look decent of course. He also pried my mouth open, did his inspection and seemed satisfied. His hands moved to my breasts. "I wouldn't do that if I were you..", I said quietly but threatening. He chose to ignore me. When I felt is dirty hand touch my naked breast, I lost my control. I lunged forward en smacked my forehead against his nose. I felt it break and blood splashed on his white gown. Two guards grabbed me immediately and tried to put me down on the floor, but they didn't succeed because I was still shackled. The wounds on my back burst open and I saw the man I hit being dragged away, passed out. A felt a little bit of proudness in me, but that disappeared immediately when Stickman came walking towards me, with the evilest look on his face. "You'll pay for that you little –" he started but was cut off by a loud shout from behind me. "I will buy this slave and you will not harm her, because she will be worth less. I will pay you four thousand sesterces right now, and we'll leave", her saver spoke. His voice was very low, intimidating. Stickman must have thought the same, because she was shackled lose, coins were handed and my buyer grabbed my arm and led me away from the crowd, away from the market.

I did not dare look at him. I looked in front of me. Proud and tall, like a Spartan should. I defended myself against wandering hands of men and in that moment I was proud to call myself a Spartan. "What is your name?", he shook me out of my train of thoughts. "My name is Alex," I said, still looking in front of me. "Well Alex," he started, "I am Marcus Ichtus, owner of the Neapolis School of Gladiatrices, you're my slave now, so you have to obey me. I will do you no harm if you don't make it difficult to do that, do you understand?". I nodded. He had no idea what I was going through. Slave. Savage. Betrayer of you own people. How dare you call yourself a Spartan, you're lower than an ant.

Ichtus put me in a chariot with an iron cage on it. A few guards were next to it. I sat down, noticed a bowl of food and bread next to me, and started to eat. Ichtus walked away again, when I asked a guard what was happening, he answered: "Master Ichtus has to buy more women for the new class, you'll have to wait here for a few hours". Well, if that was the case, I could better get as comfortable as possible and sleep a little. And that is just what I did.


	4. Chapter IV

Chapter IV

Ichtus looked at the chariot with his new stock. A few barbarians, they always promised good animalistic fights, just like they fought when they were still in their tribes in the north. A few Hellene women, mostly for his own enjoyment. Even a Roman girl who walked away from home and got captured. She had something cute over her, but could surprise him with her fierce look and harsh words. And then there was the Spartan. He was lucky to have witnessed the attack on a potential buyer, otherwise he wouldn't have known her skill. The smash with her forehead was precise, rock-splitting hard and above all, entertaining. Just what he needed for the arena. But carefulness was required, he had the feeling he could take down guards if she was given the change. Yes, he needed to break her before she broke his business.

The ride to the school was uncomfortable, but not as much as the last trip I made. There were finally some women who actually spoke my language, but they were from Athens. Housewives, sold because of adultery. Farmer's daughters, sold because of the harvesting failure. And young girls who didn't have anybody. I think there are about 20 women in the chariot. Also a few barbarians, one of them with hair that was so wild that she looked like a lion. She was talking to some of the other barbarians, but I did not understand one thing.

The Hellene women didn't talk to me. They must think I'm from the north because of my light skin. I didn't feel the need to talk to them, they wouldn't understand where I come from. They don't understand anything about all the things that I have been thought. Battle-strategies, complex combat manoeuvres and above all, fighting skills.

The girl with the wild hair stood up from her side of the chariot and walked over to me. She wasn't taken back by my look of pure disgust and sat down next to me.

"Hello, me Nicky. You?" She barely spoke Latin, but tried it anyway.

"Alex", I answered flatly. I did not feel the need to talk to the barbarian at all.

"You Roman?" I almost smacked her face right then and there. How dare she call me a Roman? How dare she call me the name of the people who took my everything from me?

"No," I said, hoping she would be finished.

"Oh, me from Germania". I groaned, very irritated by the conversation.

A guard opened the chariot and lifted a big pot in the chariot with a stack of bowls and spoons. Nicky went and filled two bowls with quite good smelling broth. It was filled with meat and all sorts of vegetables. She came back and gave one to me. I'm not used to people doing things for me, so I looked surprised. She just smiled and said "Eat, before cold". Nicky and I ate in silence. Night fell when we were still on the road. I heard a guard say that we would reach our destination in the morning. Nicky looked at me, with an asking look on her face. She must have no idea where we are going.

"We are going to a school, to be gladiatrices", I explained. She looked dumbfounded.

I tried to explain it with gestures, that worked a whole lot better. Nicky shouted to the other barbarian women in their unintelligible language, and they all stood up and gathered around me.

"Tell more", Nicky said.

I was irritated, I don't want to tell stories to those women, but when I saw their pleading faces I couldn't help but feel compassionate. These women were dragged here, and didn't understand a thing that was said to them. They had no clue what was awaiting them. So I stood up and gestured and used just simple sentences to teach them where we were heading and some basic Latin. I took the task with pride, I know people can learn a lot from me, for I am very well-schooled and for they were unskilled barbarians.


	5. Chapter V

Chapter V

"Welcome in the ludus!"

Twenty women watched the as the man who spoke those words walked towards them. He was massive. More than 6'6'' foot tall, huge arms and chest, with muscles that looked like iron cords on his body, neatly cut red beard and naked except a loincloth. He stood before them, legs wide and steady on the ground, and a voice that sounded like a rolling thunder.

"I am Musachus and I'm the headtrainer of this ludus. You'll obey me, and you will obey the other trainers. If you don't, you will face the consequences and you won't be happy. You'll train hard, and you will survive. If you don't, you won't even make it through the oath and you will be sold on. The ludus is your only change at freedom! If you win enough bouts, if you kill enough opponents, you'll be set free. Think about that when your mind tells you to stop, you have to push through! We'll guide you by that.." he finished with an evil grin on his face. He misses a few teeth I noticed. He repeated his massages, at least I think he did, in the language of the barbarians. They nodded en were listening carefully to what he had to say.

Next he introduces the other trainers. There was Bonneto, a young guy from Brittanica, once a gladiator himself but bought free by fans. Next was Ka'aba, he was from the south. Skin dark as the night and he looked strong as a bull. Third was Utgard, I guess he is about 60 years old. Still very muscled and brown, wrinkled skin from years in the hot sun. And the last one Paolo, son of Ichtus. A very young boy, I think he is not even twenty, but with a stern and very arrogant look on his face.

We were told to take off our clothes and like I've seen before: the barbarians aren't very fond of doing that. I easily let the tunica fall from my body and I was actually relieved by that, it had started to smell. I heard some struggling to my left and saw that one of the barbarians didn't want to let go of her clothers. "Let me handle that", I heard Paolo say. He walked towards the girl, who looked terrified. He grabbed the tunica on the underside en ripped it over her head. He stood close to her face.

"Next time, it'll be a lot more fun, nasty little barbarian", and he spat in her face. One of the trainers whistled in encouragement but Paolo walked back to the line.

We were led to the bathhouse. It was a beautiful room, completely made of marble and sandstone. Big columns rose on each side and in the middle was a giant sparkling pool. The aroma of lavender hung heavily in the air, and I couldn't help but smile, despite the situation I was in. I slid myself in de water and sighed, it was just the right temperature en I swam some laps through the pool. After a while I noticed a small girl waving me on the side of the pool. I swam towards her.

"Are you Miss Alex? I'm Terra, and I want to ask you to follow me," she said in a small voice. She couldn't have been older than eight.

"Ok, let me get myself a towel". I climbed out of the pool en followed the little girl into a room next to it. There was a massage table and a steam bath that made the whole room smell like eucalyptus. Terra summoned me to the table, on which I laid down. She worked my back an legs for a long time and I felt completely rested. If this was the way of living in the ludus, it wasn't that bad. After Terra had finished her massage, she gave me a fresh tunica and sandals. She told me to go back to the big patio in the middle of the ludus where we had our first briefing earlier on the day. Masachus showed us our rooms, which were little cells with a straw bale and a little gutter that went out through the wall in the back and smelled really bad. Every women got their own cell and were told that we ourselves are responsible for cleaning it. Tonight there would be a welcome-party with the junior and senior gladiatrices and tomorrow training would begin.

Since I had nothing to do, I went looking for Nicky, but couldn't find her anywhere. I wanted to go back to my sell to get some sleep but I heard clashing of swords and shields. I couldn't resist to go take a look. I walked through the patio and ended up at the edge of a large training field. The floor was a layer of sand, which made every step twice as hard. I looked over and saw two women in combat. They were the only two women on the whole field. The others of the juniors and seniors must be preparing for tonight. But these two were fighting hard, inexhaustible, all their power put in every blow. One of the women was quite small, fragile even, but her continuous blowing with her sword told me otherwise. She had brown hair, brown eyes and shrieked high pitch every time she hit home. The other women was breath-taking. She fought like a lion, every step measured out, every blow calculated, her blonde hair dancing wildly around her head, but not bothering her. She got her opponent on the ground with one kick in the abdomen when there wasn't a blade near for a splitsecond. She yelled, jumped on top of the small women, en pointed the wooden sword towards her throat.

I watched, breathing heavily and full of admiration, how the tall women stood up, grabbed the arm of her opponent en walked to the exit on the side of the field together, heading towards the small villa's on the far side of the ludus. I wanted to yell, meet this beautiful warrior, but I couldn't. I didn't even know if I was allowed to be here. It was like she could feel me looking, because just before she exited the field through the gate, her piercing blue eyes found mine. I was transfixed and couldn't move any part of my body. She smiled smugly and averted her head to her opponent next to her, and walked away from the field.

I must have been standing there for a few minutes before I realised I should probably go back to my cell. I walked back over the patio when I heard somebody yell my name. I looked around en saw a big bush of blonde wild hair running towards me.

"Hey Nicky, how are you?"

"I am good. Thank you. How you do?" Her Latin had improved already since the first time we met.

"I'm fine. Shall we make ourselves ready for the party tonight?" I realised she didn't understand me when I saw her face, she looked so confused. So I just grabbed her arm en pulled her with me to the cells, to get ready for the party. Would the stunning blonde warrior be there?


	6. Chapter VI

**Sorry for the wait guys, my uni is trying to kill me ;) But enjoy!**

Chapter VI

The party had already started when Nicky and I arrived. Most of the barbarians were already drunk from the filthy strong beer that they liked to drink. They were wrestling each other in a ring, and displayed exactly the way that I saw them. I tried to tame Nicky's hair by braiding, but it seemed impossible to start with, so we just left it the way it was.

As a Sparten warrior I'm not used to a lot of alcohol. I watered my wine with three parts water and one part wine, just like every person should do. If you don't, your mind gets clouded and what if your enemy plans on attacking right that moment? Nicky already got herself a big cup with foaming beer and walked towards the barbarian fights. When she asked me if I wanted to come I declined. I would not be seen close to such barbaric spectacle.

The piazza was full of women and guards were at all the corners. They probably have experience with the rare times that the women got a drink and how that went during the night. I took a sip of my wine and was pleasantly surprised that is wasn't as foul tasting as I thought it would. I stood in a corner of de piazza, just observing the women and hoping that a certain blonde would come into my view. But there were more than a hundred women here, of all kinds of heritages. It was hard to find somebody I only saw from far away. I don't even know her name, or her status in the ludus. Was she a junior? Senior? Where the seniors even here between all the novices or did they have their own party on the other side of the ludus?

The ludus was very large. The main gate lead to the piazza, where the party is. The piazza had a gate on every side, so four in total. The left door let to the novice-area. Our cells were there, a small training-field and our bathhouses. The gate opposite to the main entrance let to the dining hall which was a part of the large villa where Ichtus lived. Entering the villa was strictly forbidden for slaves and being caught there meant a serious punishment. The last gate on the right led to the large training-field for the juniors and seniors. Next to it was the small ludus-arena for practice and several hundred meters it was something that looked like a small village. There were small houses and the further you got the bigger and luxurious they got. Those were the houses owned by the junior and senior gladiatrices. How higher your ranking, the bigger and more luxurious your house.

"Hey you"

I was shook away from my musings and tried to focus on the person in front of me. I took a sharp intake of breath when I recognized those beautiful eyes. I must have an startled expression on my face, because she let out the smallest chuckle. I cleared my throat, which had suddenly gone dry and shook my head.

"Hey". I mentally kicked myself. You're a Spartan Alex! Get your shit together! Like you never talked to a female before.

"I saw you watching me today. Impressed?", I nodded. "You should be careful, you're not allowed overthere as a novice. My name is Piper, what's your?". She extended her hand to me.

I took it. It was small, it was soft and it was oh so warm. I looked at our hands, then at her face and her awaiting expression."

"Oh uhm..", I started, "my name is Alex, I'm a warrior from Sparta".

"Sparta huh? We had one of your kind before, she has been the Gladiatrix Prima of this ludus. The best gladiatrix. Thirty bouts, 1 withdraw, 29 wins"

"Were is she now?"

"Elysium. She thought after being bought free that she had one more fight in her, that was a mistake."

She sounded sad, compassionate even. I was shocked by the story of a companion, a family member of me, who had been in the same position as me. Who had fought herself to freedom and then chose to die the Spartan way. It did me proud, but it also terrified me. As the new Spartan, I have to prove myself worthy now. I have to be better than this fallen heroine.

Piper must have sensed that I was having deep thought. She gave me a light punch in de shoulder and invited me to the table of the seniors. But first like she said "we have to get you a proper drink, because this watery fluid is not going to get you sociable". So she threw my wine away and pushed a new carafe in my hands. I followed her through the crowd to a table in the far corner of the piazza where is was quiet and the people looked a little more decent than the show of the barbarians on the other side of the piazza.

"Ladies, let me introduce you to Alex, she is a novice and already can't take her eyes of me". Piper laughs out loud when she saw my tomato-red face. How did she notice? Is it that obvious that I think Piper almost looks like the goddess Athene herself?

"So Piper, you found yourself some new meat?" a chubby women with fire-red hair asked. A new round of laughter was heard from the table. I'm not used to this kind of talk. We didn't have parties during my training in Sparta. We didn't have social contact, it was forbidded. So I really don't know how to behave in this group of women. I looked at Piper with a fearful look on my face and she got the message.

"Ladies, let's not tease her, she just got here this morning". I was thankfull.

Piper introduced me to some of the women. Lorna, the petite women from the fight that I watched, she was Roman herself but got enslaved when she was charged guilty for adultery. Red, the chubby women with the red hair, a barbarian from Dacia, the Gladiatrix Prima of the ludus. Gloria, a fierce women from Gallaecia. And Piper self, from Brittanica.

I almost spat out my drink. Piper? A barbarian? It couldn't be. I was confused. The wine had clouded my mind. I stood up from the table clumsily. The women laughed when they saw it, but I just wanted to get away. I almost stumbled my way from the wooden bench, Piper tried to catch me and ask what was wrong, but I was long gone before the words were past her lips. I heard Red laugh at my clumsiness, but I was to busy getting away to notice it.

I stormed to my cell and closed the door. I paced from one side to the other. Four steps, turn around, four steps, turn around. I needed to calm my mind. I can't be affected this much by a barbarian. But she is so beautiful and innocent, how can it be? I need to stay away, I can't play with my honor like this. I stood still, took a deep breath and laid down on my straw-bed. But sleep didn't come for several hours, due to the swirling feeling in my head.

* * *

><p>It had become calm at the party. Most of the novices had gone to their cells, incredibly drunk. They will regret it tomorrow when their training will start. Would Alex have gone to her cell too? Why did she run away that fast? I thought we were having a nice night. Maybe I could go to her and persuade her with my charms, like I usually do with new novices that had caught my eye. But I didn't feel the urge to do so. Which is weird because I haven't had sex in a month or something, and pleasuring yourself becomes quite boring after a few weeks. Alex didn't just stirr my loins like the other girls I would fuck once and then forget about when they got killed in their first bout. That's what made it so easy: don't get attached, 'cause they will die in a month or two. But with Alex is was different. I got warm inside when I saw her and I noticed that I was nervous talking to her. They way she looked through the crowd on the piazza, completely lost in thought, it took me back a little bit, she just looked so damn beautifull.<p>

"What are you thinking about?" Red interrupted my stream of thoughts.

"Oh nothing, just about the novices. I wonder how many of them will survive the first matches" I answered, not completely lying.

"And are you certain that there is not a certain ravenhaired girl on your mind?". Red looked at me with an iminous look on her face.

"Nah, you know me Red, I fuck them once at that shall be it". I stood up, told everybody good night and left for my house on the far end of the ludus. And just like my thoughts, my dreams where full of images of Alex.


	7. Chapter VII

Chaper VII 

* * *

><p>"Shut up and pay attention!"<p>

Masachus' roaring voice startled the women who were standing on the sands of their training-field. The entire field was filled with all kinds of training-material. I saw wooden walls for climbing, a wooden structure with ropes hanging from the beam on top, heavy stones for lifting and big fenced square spaces, probably for wrestling.

"Today your training will start! You will work on your stamina and strengthening your muscles first. Otherwise you weak slaves won't even be able to lift a sword of the ground, let alone kill somebody with it that isn't yourself". He chuckled, obviously enjoying his own joke. "We will divide you into three groups after we have seen your perform the first test and then every group gets its own trainer. So ladies, let's start running! Laps around the field! Now!"

The group of women stirred and soon we were running laps around the field. Three of the women, mostly the Hellene ones, dropped down after only one lap, and they were put together in a group. The next five dropouts shared the same fate.

For me, running was nog the problem. I used to start my day with a 20 mile run around my polis back in Hellas. But the past few weeks made me lose my strength. Already after six laps I could feel my legs starting to tremble and my lungs were screaming for more air. But I kept running, I would show them what I was worth. Only a few barbarians and I were still doing laps, neither one of us wanting to give up and give the other the victory. One of the barbarians dropped out, I recognized the lion-manes and felt a little shock that Nicky even got this far, she didn't look strong.

"STOP!" Masachus screamed at us. I looked confused, I hadn't won yet and still had some running left in me. But he wouldn't have it. "I can't have you running around like lunatics and sleep the rest of the day because of it, get your ass over here so I can divide you into the groups!".

My group consisted of Nicky, 4 more barbarians and one Spaniard, and our trainer was Paolo. I had a deep loathing feeling for the guy and I wasn't afraid to shoot him a disgusted look every time I could. But he wasn't as harsh today as we had seen him yesterday. He was delighted to be able to train the best group instead of the women who couldn't even move their feet without being out of breath.

It was nice to finally be able to train again. My body isn't what is used to be and I felt terrible about it. I was determined to get an even better stamina and strength than I used to have, so I trained without stopping. Pain is just a feeling, you can turn it off. Even if your legs scream in pain, that last mile of running will save you when you're in a real battle. So I pushed, and pushed, and pushed.

The day ended just before sundown and after having a bath and a healthy meal by myself, my straw-bed never looked more soft. 

* * *

><p>Weeks of practice and training followed. The groups were changed every day and so did the trainers. After thirty days of training we were called for a gathering at the piazza. Nicky and I looked confused at eachother.<p>

"What is wrong?" she asked me. I shrugged, and walked over to the piazza with the other novices. When we arrived I saw that the piazza was changed. There was a sandpit in de middle, with ropes around it, which made it look like a small arena. Ichtus was sitting on a chair on the far end of the piazza on a platform so he could overlook all the women and the sandpit in the middle. There was a crowd, standing around the sandpit and my heart skipped a beat when I noticed Piper standing in the crowd. It was the first time I got to see her after the debacle at the party. She looked worried and concerned with the situation and especially with me. I couldn't look at her, the shame was rising like hot bile in my throath. I looked down and Nicky noticed.

"Are you okay?" she looked concerned. I nodded, and looked up when I heard Masachus speak to us.

"Novices! Today is the day! Today we will see who of you have trained hard enough to be here, and who of you will be send to the blocks." A scared humming went around the novices. The blocks meant you would be sold again, and you wouldn't have any change of freedom.

"Today, you will fight against each other. Fight well, and even if you lose, you have a change to stay. Fight shit and even if you win we will send you away. First battle, Illiane and Greta.". The two women got incredibly pale when their names were called. Nobody of us expected this today, we were getting ready for just another day of training. I saw fear on a lot of faces around me, and now I understood the worried look in Piper's beautiful eyes. It could be over after today.

"Here are the rules", Masachus began, "there is to be no life-taking. If you hit, don't hit the head. Hitting the head is only allowed with your hands. If your opponent isn't in a state to fight any more you will turn to Ichtus en raise your hand. He can do two things: give life and give death. 'Missio' means life, he will then lift his hand and stick his thumb up. And thumb down means death. In a real battle, you get to kill your opponent if this is the case. Today it means that your opponent will be send to the blocks. Fight well and you will get missio, remember that!"

Greta and Illiane were led into the sandpit and were both given a small wooden sword and a wooden shield. They both stood clumsily on the sand on the opposite of each other.

"Pugnate!" Ichtus yelled. Both women lifted their swords, and attacked in with a furious leap.

The day continued on and three women were send to the blocks yet. Already six fights have taken place and a few injuries occurred. Greta had a broken wrist but still managed to defeat Illiane, who got missio. Penelope crushed some of Teita's ribs when she accidently fell on top of her with her shield in front of her and Daya got a concussion from a collision with the shoulder of Amoube.

Right now I was looking at the victorious yelling of one of the barbarians, Halewych, for who Nicky had been cheering and screaming her lungs out. Halewych turned towards Ichtus and lifted her hand. Ichtus looked at the crying heap that was Tryna and put his thumb down. To the blocks.

Masachus entered the sandpit with his wax-tablet in his hand. "Next match: Nicky and Alex!"


	8. Chapter VIII

Chapter VIII

* * *

><p>I turned my head to the left, only to be met with a wolfish grin, that was showing on Nicky's face. Oh yeah, game on.<p>

I walked towards the opening in de ropes to enter the sandpit. Paolo thrusts a sword and shield in my hands en I am delighted to feel the heaviness of the weapons. They were twice as light as the weapons that she used to train with at home. I spun ,my sword around in my hand, which elicited a few whistles in the crowd. I took in my usual start position and waited. Nicky also seemed to have no problem with the weight of the weapons, she stood firm, one foot in front of her and on the side, ready for action.

"Pugnate!"

Nicky lurged forward with a massive stroke of her blade. I jumped to the left and landed swiftly on my left foot. I turned around it and surprised Nicky with a blow from behind. She stooped, but couldn't prevent her from the blade that hit her right shoulder. I quickly turned around again and waited for Nicky to recover. It didn't take long, and to my surprise she jumped in the attack again, landing blow after blow on my shield. I parried all of her blows, but I noticed I was getting tired of the constant attacks so I had to do something. I saw the blade coming and I pushed my shield forward to meet the blade halfway. I saw the surprised look on Nicky's face when I put my whole body behind my shield en pushed her. She stumbled back but did not fall. Now it was my turn, I attacked with a series of complex manoeuvres and it was hard for her to keep up with me. I needed her to fight back, she needed to get the missio, for there was no chance that she would win from me. It seemed like Nicky sensed it, since she started a furious counterattack. We were fighting blade to blade and both suffered minor injuries. Her shield hit the side of my head, which made me a little dizzy and my ankle hurt after a misstep. Nicky on the other side had various bruises everywhere and her left wrist was bruised, if not broken. But we fought and fought until I caught Nicky by surprise, tackled her to the ground and put the point of my blade to her neck. I looked up to Ichtus and lifted my left hand.

My heart was beating in my throat. Ichtus face was blank and I shot a little prayed to Athena that he would spare Nicky from the blocks. Ichtus stood up, lifted his hand en stuck out his thumb. My breath hitched… His hand moved in an upward position.

"Missio!"

I smiled and looked at Nicky. She had tears in her eyes, but I don't know if they were of joy or pain. I heard whistling and catcalling around us. The women were cheering en even the seniors looked impressed with our bout. It's like I notice them now for the first time. During the match it was Nicky and me. I didn't see anything but her and victory. I looked around in the crowd but couldn't find the face I was dying to see. I craned my neck but Piper was nowhere in sight. Instead, my look landed on Red. The Gladiatrix Prima didn't look impressed at all, like all the others. Instead, her face was full of disgust and arrogance. I diverted my view to the novices who were cheering. A few barbarians took Nicky on their shoulders and ran around the piazza with her.

I saw Utgard, the old trainer, walking towards me.

"That was one good fight to look at, Spartan. Keep this up and even Red won't be able to beat you", he smiled with his toothless grin at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I wouldn't dare to fight Red, Utgard. For she is Gladiatrix Prima and I just a novice.".

"You're good with your words, Spartan. Just remember battles are not won with them. Are you in need to go to the infirmary?"

I told him I was fine, and nodded while I walked away. I made my way through the western piazza gate towards the cells. I took my towel and made my way to the bathhouse, and was relieved to find it almost empty. On the far end of the pool sat one woman, and it was just the woman I wanted to see. I walked along the side of the pool and sat next to her on the edge, my feet in the warm water beneath us.

"Hey" I said.

"Hey" She replied. Her voice was different, she sounded sad.

"Why weren't you at my bout with Nicky? As I may recall from the enthusiasm of the others, it was quite entertaining to look at."

"I didn't want to see you go". I was taken aback by her reply.

"What do you mean? I always win. Nobody here can measure themselves to me"

She chuckled. "Oh Alex, how arrogant you are. It suits you. Now go clean yourself, you smell and you need to look good for your Oath tonight".

I looked down at myself and I was indeed very dirty. I stood up, pulled my tunica over my head and dove in the delicious warm water. I swam a few feet underwater and then floated towards much needed air. As soon as I lifted my head out of the water I could see Piper looking at me. She was unabashedly checking out my whole body and she did it without any shame.

"Like what you see?" I dared to ask her. She just nodded while she bit her lip, which made me have a weird feeling in my abdomen. I started swimming again and I heard Piper stand up when I was halfway the pool. I looked and saw her taking off her own tunica and she jumped in the pool. If I always said that barbarians where ugly with too much bodyfat and saggy breasts I will have to change that view. Piper's body was slim, her skin was smooth like silk, her breasts small and perky and her ass was firm. I was gaping at her and I quickly closed my mouth when I saw her swimming towards me. She swam until she was maybe two feet away from me and looked me straight in the eye. I was lost. I could look at this woman forever, I could drown in this beautiful eyes and I would be happy doing it. My body was shaking with nerves and I could feel all the blood in my body running to my cheeks. Her eyes flicked between my eyes and my lips and my breath hitched when she came closer.

"Now we are even", she whispered in my ear. And with that, she swam to the far side of the pool, climbed out and disappeared in a peristyle that led to the seniorhouses.

I let go of my breath I didn't even know I was holding. My face was incredibly hot and a smile formed on my face, and I couldn't stop it. My stomach was protesting in exciting flutters and I was confused by all these sensations. The women back home entertained themselves with Sapphic love all the time, because we are forbidden to lay with a men before our first battle, so there was nothing wrong with it. But these feelings confused me, I always believed I preserved my heart for my future husband, but now I want nothing more than pull it out and give it to Piper, for she will keep it safe.


End file.
